explain_resource

Get documentation for Kubernetes resources or fields to understand their structure and usage in cluster operations.

Instructions

Get documentation for a Kubernetes resource or field

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`resource`	Yes	Resource name or field path (e.g. 'pods' or 'pods.spec.containers')
`apiVersion`	No	API version to use (e.g. 'apps/v1')
`recursive`	No	Print the fields of fields recursively
`context`	No	Kubeconfig Context to use for the command (optional - defaults to null)
`output`	No	Output format (plaintext or plaintext-openapiv2)	plaintext

Implementation Reference

src/tools/kubectl-operations.ts:96-134 (handler)

The main handler function that implements the 'explain_resource' tool. It constructs and executes a 'kubectl explain' command using the provided parameters and returns the output as MCP content.

export async function explainResource(
  params: ExplainResourceParams
): Promise<{ content: { type: string; text: string }[] }> {
  try {
    const command = "kubectl";
    const args = ["explain"];

    if (params.apiVersion) {
      args.push(`--api-version=${params.apiVersion}`);
    }

    if (params.recursive) {
      args.push("--recursive");
    }

    if (params.context) {
      args.push("--context", params.context);
    }

    if (params.output) {
      args.push(`--output=${params.output}`);
    }

    args.push(params.resource);

    const result = executeKubectlCommand(command, args);

    return {
      content: [
        {
          type: "text",
          text: result,
        },
      ],
    };
  } catch (error: any) {
    throw new Error(`Failed to explain resource: ${error.message}`);
  }
}

src/tools/kubectl-operations.ts:9-42 (schema)

The schema definition for the 'explain_resource' tool, specifying input parameters, description, and annotations.

export const explainResourceSchema = {
  name: "explain_resource",
  description: "Get documentation for a Kubernetes resource or field",
  annotations: {
    readOnlyHint: true,
  },
  inputSchema: {
    type: "object",
    properties: {
      resource: {
        type: "string",
        description:
          "Resource name or field path (e.g. 'pods' or 'pods.spec.containers')",
      },
      apiVersion: {
        type: "string",
        description: "API version to use (e.g. 'apps/v1')",
      },
      recursive: {
        type: "boolean",
        description: "Print the fields of fields recursively",
        default: false,
      },
      context: contextParameter,
      output: {
        type: "string",
        description: "Output format (plaintext or plaintext-openapiv2)",
        enum: ["plaintext", "plaintext-openapiv2"],
        default: "plaintext",
      },
    },
    required: ["resource"],
  },
};

src/models/kubectl-models.ts:12-18 (schema)

TypeScript interface defining the input parameters for the explain_resource handler function.

export interface ExplainResourceParams {
  resource: string;
  apiVersion?: string;
  recursive?: boolean;
  output?: "plaintext" | "plaintext-openapiv2";
  context?: string;
}

src/index.ts:400-410 (registration)

Registration and dispatching of the 'explain_resource' tool in the main CallToolRequest handler switch statement.

case "explain_resource": {
  return await explainResource(
    input as {
      context?: string;
      resource: string;
      apiVersion?: string;
      recursive?: boolean;
      output?: "plaintext" | "plaintext-openapiv2";
    }
  );
}

src/index.ts:20-24 (registration)

Import of the explainResource handler and explainResourceSchema into the main index file.

  explainResource,
  explainResourceSchema,
  listApiResources,
  listApiResourcesSchema,
} from "./tools/kubectl-operations.js";

mcp-server-kubernetes